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Yusuf Ma Dexin (also ''Ma Tesing''; 1794–1874) was a
Hui Chinese The Hui people ( zh, c=, p=Huízú, w=Hui2-tsu2, Xiao'erjing: , dng, Хуэйзў, ) are an East Asian ethnoreligious group predominantly composed of Chinese-speaking adherents of Islam. They are distributed throughout China, mainly in the n ...
Hanafi- Maturidi scholar from Yunnan, known for his fluency and proficiency in both Arabic and Persian, and for his knowledge of
Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...
. He also went by the Chinese name Ma Fuchu. He used the Arabic name Abd al-Qayyum Ruh al-Din Yusuf (عبد القيوم روح الدين يوسف). He was also styled as "Mawlana al-Hajj Yusuf Ruh al-Din Ma Fujuh" (مولانا الحاج يوسف روح الدين ما فو جوه).


Biography

Sayyid Ajjal Shams al-Din Omar Sayyid Ajall Shams al-Din Omar al-Bukhari ( fa, سید اجل شمس‌الدین عمر بخاری; ; 1211–1279) was Yunnan's first provincial governor, appointed by the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty of China. Life Shams al-Din was of Central Asian ...
was an ancestor in the 25th generation of
Ma Dexin Yusuf Ma Dexin (also ''Ma Tesing''; 1794–1874) was a Hui Chinese Hanafi-Maturidi scholar from Yunnan, known for his fluency and proficiency in both Arabic and Persian language, Persian, and for his knowledge of Islam. He also went by the Chine ...
.


Hajj

Ma performed the
Hajj The Hajj (; ar, حَجّ '; sometimes also spelled Hadj, Hadji or Haj in English) is an annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, the holiest city for Muslims. Hajj is a mandatory religious duty for Muslims that must be carried ...
in 1841, leaving China by a circuitous route; as ocean travel out of China had been disrupted by the
Opium War The First Opium War (), also known as the Opium War or the Anglo-Sino War was a series of military engagements fought between Britain and the Qing dynasty of China between 1839 and 1842. The immediate issue was the Chinese enforcement of the ...
, he chose instead to leave with a group of Muslim merchants travelling overland. After passing through
Xishuangbanna Xishuangbanna, Sibsongbanna or Sipsong Panna ( Tham: , New Tai Lü script: ; ; th, สิบสองปันนา; lo, ສິບສອງພັນນາ; shn, သိပ်းသွင်ပၼ်းၼႃး; my, စစ်ဆောင် ...
, they went south to Burma, then took a riverboat along the
Irrawaddy River The Irrawaddy River ( Ayeyarwady River; , , from Indic ''revatī'', meaning "abounding in riches") is a river that flows from north to south through Myanmar (Burma). It is the country's largest river and most important commercial waterway. Origi ...
from
Mandalay Mandalay ( or ; ) is the second-largest city in Myanmar, after Yangon. Located on the east bank of the Irrawaddy River, 631km (392 miles) (Road Distance) north of Yangon, the city has a population of 1,225,553 (2014 census). Mandalay was fo ...
to
Rangoon Yangon ( my, ရန်ကုန်; ; ), formerly spelled as Rangoon, is the capital of the Yangon Region and the largest city of Myanmar (also known as Burma). Yangon served as the capital of Myanmar until 2006, when the military government ...
. From Rangoon, they were able to board a
steamship A steamship, often referred to as a steamer, is a type of steam-powered vessel, typically ocean-faring and seaworthy, that is propelled by one or more steam engines that typically move (turn) propellers or paddlewheels. The first steamships ...
which took them all the way to the
Arabian Peninsula The Arabian Peninsula, (; ar, شِبْهُ الْجَزِيرَةِ الْعَرَبِيَّة, , "Arabian Peninsula" or , , "Island of the Arabs") or Arabia, is a peninsula of Western Asia, situated northeast of Africa on the Arabian Plate ...
. After his time in Mecca, he stayed in the Middle East for another eight years; he first went to Cairo, where he studied at
Al-Azhar University , image = جامعة_الأزهر_بالقاهرة.jpg , image_size = 250 , caption = Al-Azhar University portal , motto = , established = *970/972 first foundat ...
, then travelled throughout the Ottoman Empire, going to Suez, Alexandria, Jerusalem, Istanbul, Cyprus, and Rhodes.


Return to China

As a prominent Muslim in Yunnan, Ma became involved in the Panthay Rebellion in Yunnan shortly after he returned from the Hajj. The Panthay Rebellion, which flared up in 1856 as part of a wider series of uprisings by Muslims and other minorities, was led mainly by Du Wenxiu; though Ma disagreed with Du Wenxiu's revolutionary methods, he also encouraged his followers to aid in the uprising; later, he would try to act as a peacemaker between the central government forces and the rebels. Ma Dexin said that Neo-Confucianism was reconcilable with Islam, approved of Ma Rulong defecting to the Qing and he also assisted other Muslims in defecting. However, despite his efforts to bring about peace, the
Qing The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speaki ...
government still regarded him as a rebel and a traitor; he was executed two years after the suppression of the rebellion. Europeans reported that he was either poisoned or executed.


Role in the Panthay Rebellion

Ma Dexin was the most prominent Hui scholar in Yunnan. He used his prestige to act as a mediator between the different Hui factions & "helped orient and validate" the rebellion throughout the province. He was respected by both Du Wenxiu & Ma Rulong as a spiritual leader. In 1860; Ma Dexin sent forces to help Du Wenxiu fight the Qing; assuring him that:
"I have already secretly ordered my disciples enshengMa
ulong Ulong may refer to: * Ulong Island, in the Republic of Palau in the Pacific Ocean, sometimes called ''Aulong'' and originally written ''Oroolong'' in English * Ulong channel, a gap in the reef to the west of Ulong Island, popular with divers. * Ulo ...
as the Grand Commander of Three Directions, with Ma Rong as second in command . . . to launch a rearguard attack from their base in Yimen."
Ma Dexin possessed a telescope that he had purchased while in Singapore, yet was unable to use it. In late 1867, M. Garnier a member of a French expedition met Ma in Kunming and adjusted the lenses for him. A grateful Ma then agreed to write for them a letter of recommendation to Du Wenxiu. Ma also asked officials along the route to Dali to provide the best service to the French Explorers. Muslim soldiers let the explorers pass due to Ma's letter.


Surrender to the Qing

There is evidence that Ma Dexin, Ma Rulong & the Hui forces with them only pretended to surrender (in 1862) in order to gain access to the city of Kunming. Even after their supposed capitulation to the Qing; Ma Rulong continued to issue proclamations using his seal "Generalissimo of the Three Directions" while Ma Dexin refused to accept the Civil title granted to him; not wanting to be associated with the Qing regime. The Hui rebels taunted the Hui who hadn't joined the rebellion as being fake Hui (jia Huizi). Taiwanese researcher Li Shoukong asserts that many Hui rebels had employed a similar tactic of pretending to surrender in the early years of the rebellion. To test his loyalty Ma Rulong was sent to pacify the disgruntled magistrate of Lin'an (in Southern Yunnan). A few weeks after Ma Rulong left the city; rebel forces led by Ma Rong and Ma Liansheng stormed Kunming & captured it. Ma Rulong's forces had come to believe that he could no longer be trusted to achieve their goal of uniting under a single rebel government. In 1863 Ma Dexin declared himself "King-Who-Pacifies-the-South (Pingnan Wang)", seized the official seals & stopped using the Qing reign year when dating documents. Ma Dexin hoped to keep the rebel forces united under him until he could hand over control to Du Wenxiu. Ma Rulong immediately rushed back to Kunming, and attacked the city along with Qing forces;. He ordered Ma Dexin to give up his seals of office & placed him under house arrest. According to a French missionary, Ma Rulong "arrested Lao Baba a Dexinwhose conduct, as you know, has always been very ambiguous, but not any more. This old fox was consigned to the palace in which Ma ulong'sfamily lives." Ma Dexin opposed Ma Rulong's acceptance of the Qing policy of "using Hui to fight other Hui". When he travelled to Dali to meet Du Wenxiu for their only and final meeting, he told him that:
"The provincial government has given Eastern Hui leaders' official positions so that the Hui will fight each other. This is the cruelest of
he Qing's He or HE may refer to: Language * He (pronoun), an English pronoun * He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ * He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets * He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' in ...
furtive plots. So we must turn it around nd use itagainst them . . . why should we fall into their trap?"
He also warned Du that:
"We should, have the inggovernment fall into a Hui plan, not let the Hui fall into the government's
lan Lan or LAN may also refer to: Science and technology * Local asymptotic normality, a fundamental property of regular models in statistics * Longitude of the ascending node, one of the orbital elements used to specify the orbit of an object in sp ...
"


Execution

The Qing official Cen Yuying disliked Ma Dexin and the Hui. In April 1874 he ordered an investigation into Ma Dexin's activities and charged him along with three others of formenting unrest. Cen claimed that when Ma Dexin was found he was on a hunger strike & on the brink of death, hence he ordered that Ma be "summarily executed". Though few Hui were convinced by Cen's words and knew that Ma had been assassinated.


Works

Sources say that Ma produced the first
Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of va ...
translation of the Qur'an, as well as writing numerous books in Arabic and Persian about Islam. His most famous writings compared Islamic culture and the Confucian philosophy in an effort to find a theoretical and theological basis for their coexistence. At the same time, he harshly criticised the absorption of Buddhist and Taoist elements into the practise of Islam in China. As he is generally regarded as an orthodox Islamic thinker, his writings also demonstrated a positive attitude towards Tasawwuf, or
Sufi Sufism ( ar, ''aṣ-ṣūfiyya''), also known as Tasawwuf ( ''at-taṣawwuf''), is a mystic body of religious practice, found mainly within Sunni Islam but also within Shia Islam, which is characterized by a focus on Islamic spirituality, ...
mysticism. In total, he published over 30 books, most of which fall into five categories. *
Islamic jurisprudence ''Fiqh'' (; ar, فقه ) is Islamic jurisprudence. Muhammad-> Companions-> Followers-> Fiqh. The commands and prohibitions chosen by God were revealed through the agency of the Prophet in both the Quran and the Sunnah (words, deeds, and e ...
and philosophy: 四典要会, 大化总归, 道行究竟, 理学折衷, 性命宗旨, 礼法启爱 据理质证, * Islamic calendar and history: 寰宇述要 (''Description of the World''), 天方历源 (''History of Arabia'') * Introduction and analysis of works of other Muslim authors in China, such as Ma Zhu and Liu Zhu: 真诠要录, 指南要言, 天方性理注释 * Qur'an: the first five volumes of 宝命真经直解 (''True Revealed Scripture''), the earliest translation of the meanings of the Qur'an into
Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of va ...
*
Arabic grammar Arabic grammar or Arabic language sciences ( ar, النحو العربي ' or ar, عُلُوم اللغَة العَرَبِيَّة ') is the grammar of the Arabic language. Arabic is a Semitic language and its grammar has many similarities with ...
: 纳哈五 (''Nahawu''), 赛尔夫 (''Saierfu''), 阿瓦米勒 (''Awamile'') * Other: 朝觐途记 (''Diary of a pilgrimage''), a description of his time in Mecca; originally in Arabic, translated to Chinese by Ma's disciple Ma Anli Ma Dexin appears to have picked up anti-Shia views from his time in the Ottoman lands and referred to them by the derogatory name Rafida 若废子 in his works which attacked and criticized Shias and some Sufis. Ma, like other most other Hui in China, belonged to the Hanafi Madhhab of
Sunni Islam Sunni Islam () is the largest branch of Islam, followed by 85–90% of the world's Muslims. Its name comes from the word '' Sunnah'', referring to the tradition of Muhammad. The differences between Sunni and Shia Muslims arose from a disagre ...
. The Chinese Muslim Arabic writing scholars Ma Lianyuan 馬聯元 1841-1903 was trained by Ma Fuchu 馬复初 1794-1874 in Yunnan with Ma Lianyuan writing books on law 'Umdat al-'Islām (عمدة الإسلام) a grammar book on ṣarf (صرف) called Hawā and Ma Fuchu writing a grammar book on naḥw (نحو) called Muttasiq (متسق) and Kāfiya (كافية). Šarḥ al-laṭā'if (شرح اللطائف) Liu Zhi's ''The Philosophy of Arabia'' 天方性理 (''Tianfang Xingli'') Arabic translation by (Muḥammad Nūr al-Ḥaqq ibn Luqmān as-Ṣīnī) (محمد نور الحق ابن لقمان الصيني), the Arabic name of Ma Lianyuan. Islamic names, du'ā' (دُعَاء), ġusl (غسل), prayers, and other ceremonies were taught in the ''Miscellaneous studies'' (Zaxue) 雜學 while 'āyāt (آيات) from the Qur'an were taught in the Xatm al-Qur'an (ختم القرآن) (Haiting). Ma Fuchu brought an Arabic Qasidat (Gesuide jizhu 格随德集注) poem to China. It was al-Būṣīrī's Qaṣīdat al-Burda.


See also

*
Islam in China Islam has been practiced in China since the 7th century CE.. Muslims are a minority group in China, representing 1.6-2 percent of the total population (21,667,000- 28,210,795) according to various estimates. Though Hui people, Hui Muslims are the ...
*
Wang Daiyu Wáng Dàiyú (, Xiao'erjing: ) (ca. 1570 - ca. 1660) was a Chinese Hanafi-Maturidi ( Hui) scholar of Arab descent. His given name was Ya, style name Daiyu. He called himself ''Zhenhui Laoren'' ("The True Old Man of Islam") and went by his sty ...
* Ma Zhu * Liu Zhi (scholar), an earlier Muslim scholar who also attempted to reconcile Islam and Confucian philosophy *
Muhammad Ma Jian Muhammad Ma Jian (; ar, محمد ماكين الصيني '; 1906–1978) was a Hui-Chinese Islamic scholar and translator, known for translating the Qur'an into Chinese and stressing compatibility between Marxism and Islam. Early years Ma w ...
, a later Chinese translator of the Qur'an who also studied at Al-Azhar * List of Hanafis * List of Ash'aris and Maturidis * List of Muslim theologians


Sources


Notes

*


Further reading

* * *


External links


English translation and commentary of his 续天方三字经 “Three-Character Classic on the Kaaba”

试论马德新著作中的"天"及伊斯兰教和儒教关系

试论马德新著作中的“天”及伊斯兰教和儒教关系


* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20141111132625/http://www.islam.net.cn/html/yisilanjiao/sixiangliupai/20140805/6430.html 马德新的大化思想
马德新的大化思想

《古蘭經》在中國
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ma, Dexin Yusuf Hanafis Maturidis 19th-century Muslim theologians Muslim reformers Shaykh al-Islāms Sunni Sufis Sunni imams Sunni Muslim scholars of Islam Chinese scholars Chinese Sunni Muslims Critics of Shia Islam Hui people Qing dynasty translators People from Dali Al-Azhar University alumni Translators of the Quran into Chinese Chinese spiritual writers Writers from Yunnan 19th-century Chinese writers 1794 births 1874 deaths 19th-century Chinese translators